Gods and governments serve interchangeable functions of surveillance, comfort, and control

Evidence

We know that supernatural monitoring is far from the only source of prosociality in the world. Secular authorities have joined (and perhaps supplanted) watchful gods as guarantors of cooperation in some places, with interesting psychological consequences that I discuss in more detail in chapter 10. There is extensive evidence for this claim from the field, and preliminary evidence from the lab. In the field, economists and sociologists consistently find that people living in societies with strong secular institutions, compared to those living in societies with weak institutions, are far more trusting of other citizens, more prosocial, and more likely to punish freeriders. In the laboratory, we have seen in chapter 3 that reminders of secular concepts (for example, civic, jury, police) are as effective as reminders of a watchful God in promoting generous behavior among Canadians. This suggests an intriguing dynamic, that when it comes to enforcing cooperation and trust, gods and governments may be interchangeable. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 302 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Gods and governments may be interchangeable enforcers of cooperation — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 302; Religious belief withers when governments provide the cooperation religion once supplied.; Secular welfare states displaced religion by replicating its cooperative functions (+5 more)

Related

• Divine and secular authority are inseparable in explaining belief (similarity 0.94)
• Gods and governments may be interchangeable enforcers of cooperation (similarity 0.93)
• Religious belief withers when governments provide the cooperation religion once supplied. (similarity 0.91)
• Secular institutions and watchful gods are interchangeable in enforcing cooperation and trust (similarity 0.88)
• Gods and governments occupy the same functional niche in human psychology (similarity 0.88)
• Gods functioned as witnesses enforcing commercial oaths in ancient markets (similarity 0.87)
• Secular governments and religious belief serve interchangeable functions, so strong states supplant gods. (similarity 0.86)
• Big Gods historically bound anonymous strangers together where courts and police were absent (similarity 0.85)
• Strong secular institutions can substitute for watchful gods in enforcing morality. (similarity 0.81)
• Secular institutions substitute for supernatural monitoring by enabling trust in strangers. (similarity 0.80)
• Surveillance alone cannot substitute for religion; only trusted secular authority does. (similarity 0.80)
• Secular institutions may reduce believers’ distrust of atheists by substituting for divine monitoring (similarity 0.79)
• Strong secular institutions substitute for and undermine belief in God (similarity 0.79)
• Surveillance only substitutes for religious authority where the state itself is trusted (similarity 0.79)
• Supernatural belief works through the same surveillance mechanism that generates prosocial behavior (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Secular welfare states displaced religion by replicating its cooperative functions #corroborates (0.95)
• Faith in God and faith in government substitute for each other #corroborates (0.95)
• Gods and governments may be interchangeable enforcers of cooperation #corroborates (0.90) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 302
• Divine and secular authority are inseparable in explaining belief #expands (0.85)
• Religious belief withers when governments provide the cooperation religion once supplied. #qualifies (0.80)
• Civilized states can learn enforcement devices from the underworld and ancient despotisms #expands (0.70) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 56